Manchester United/Roma Preview: The Reds Go Marching On?

The Old Trafford faithful demands.  But can Sir Alex Ferguson’s highly talented squad rid themselves of the tag as Europe’s serial underachievers and finally deliver?

Regaining the Premier League title and an imposing start to the new season cannot hide the desire for more European success.  Domestic triumphs fail to compensate for the fact that eight European campaigns have come and gone since the cup was lifted by the giant hands of Peter Schmeichel, something which Ferguson recently labelled as "ridiculous."  I don’t think many would disagree.

The possibility of club football's most prestigious trophy returning to Manchester has got fans and players alike drooling at the prospect of repeating the feats of 68’ and 99’.  And such optimism is justified.

With the only remaining one-hundred percent record left in this season's group stages, the club go into their final game versus Roma with the knowledge that they have already secured the top spot in Group F and have removed any possibility of facing European giants Milan, Barcelona, and Internazionale.  Not only this, but with Real Madrid expected to qualify on top of Group C and dark-horses Lyon and Valencia close to exit from the cup, a favourable draw could be in store for the Reds.

Last season's collapse to a Kaka inspired Milan, while heartbreaking, paved the way for this summer's huge spending and reinforcing of the squad.  With a clearly fatigued team, Gabriel Heinze forced into his weaker position of centre-back, and the controversial pair Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea both granted starting berths, the season had clearly proved too much for such a threadbare squad.

Four signings later and the squad standing at a lengthy twenty-nine players strong, Ferguson has arguably never had so many high quality football personel at his disposal.  Summer additions Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez, Nani, and Anderson have all bedded in well, and each has had their moments of brilliance.  Add to that the return of defensive duo Gerard Pique and Jonny Evans from loan, and the emergence of Danny Simpson as the possible heir to Gary Neville’s right-back slot, and Man United have enough players to cover almost all eventualities.

Much of Ferguson’s hopes will rest on his very own "Holy Trinity" of Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez.  If the comparisons with the legendary trio of Best, Law, and Charlton were not enough, then their current form should suffice to persuade even the most sceptical of pundits.  Between them, they have scored eleven of the club's twelve goals in Group F, with Ronaldo sitting jointly on top of the competition's goal scoring charts alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic with 5 goals in 5 games—a fantastic return for a player who's role predominantly limits him to the wing. The fitness of the trio will prove imperative for the latter stages where the Reds will no doubt face the big guns of Europe.

Can Ferguson and his new set of kids once again prove Alan Hansen’s infamous words wrong? With "that kid Ronaldo" on the team, I wouldn’t bet against it.